- a more or less orderly pile or heap: a precariously balanced stack of books;a neat stack of papers.
- a large, usually conical, circular, or rectangular pile of hay, straw, or the like (often used in combination): There was a strawstack in the corner of the field that the children liked to climb.
- a large quantity or number: We've got a stack of great ideas for new projects, so I'm feeling optimistic about work.There are stacks of family fun to be had at our newly renovated amusement park.
- a set of shelves for books or other materials ranged compactly one above the other, as in a library.
- the area or part of a library in which the books and other holdings are stored or kept.
- Computers.
- a data structure programmed to consist of elements added one at a time and only removable one at a time in order of recency.
- a data set or list arranged in this way, so that the last item stored is the first item retrieved or removed.
- memory dedicated to temporary storage of data arranged this way.
- a number of chimneys or flues grouped together.
- smokestack (def. 1).
- a vertical duct for conveying warm air from a leader to a register on an upper story of a building.
- a vertical waste pipe or vent pipe serving a number of floors.
- a large quantity of money, especially one thousand dollars: He spent two stacks on those jeans.A high-quality computer may cost a stack, but it'll last you longer than a cheap one.
- an antenna consisting of a number of components connected in a substantially vertical series.
- a conical, free-standing group of three rifles placed on their butts and hooked together near the top of the barrel with an attached swivel.
- a group of airplanes circling over an airport awaiting their turns to land.
- an English measure for coal and wood, equal to 108 cubic feet (3 cu. m).
- a column of rock isolated from a shore by the action of waves.
- Games.
- a given quantity of chips that can be bought at one time, as in poker or other gambling games.
- the quantity of chips held by a player at a given point in a gambling game.
- to pile, arrange, or place in a more or less orderly heap: I spent all yesterday loading and stacking hay bales by hand.She stacked her papers and put away her tools, then got ready to leave.
- to cover or load with something in stacks or piles: We stacked the car with luggage and headed out on our road trip.
- to arrange or select unfairly in order to force a desired result, especially to load (a jury, committee, etc.) with members having a biased viewpoint: The lawyer charged that the jury had been stacked against his client.
- to keep (a number of incoming airplanes) flying nearly circular patterns at various altitudes over an airport where crowded runways, a low ceiling, or other temporary conditions prevent immediate landings.
- to be arranged in or form a stack: These chairs stack easily.
- stack up,
- to compare; measure up (often followed by against): How does the movie stack up against the novel?
- to appear plausible or in keeping with the known facts: Your story just doesn't stack up.
- to control the flight patterns of (airplanes waiting to land at an airport) so that each circles at a designated altitude.
- to lose one's temper or become uncontrollably angry, especially to display one's fury, as by shouting: When he came in and saw the mess he blew his stack.
- stack the deck,
- to arrange cards or a pack of cards so as to cheat: He stacked the deck and won every hand.
- to manipulate events, information, etc., especially unethically, in order to achieve an advantage or desired result: Most players in the sport are amateurs, so having a professionally trained team member could really stack the deck in their favor.
- an ordered pile or heap
- a large orderly pile of hay, straw, etc, for storage in the open air
- compactly spaced bookshelves, used to house collections of books in an area usually prohibited to library users
- a number of aircraft circling an airport at different altitudes, awaiting their signal to land
- a large amount
- a pile of rifles or muskets in the shape of a cone
- a measure of coal or wood equal to 108 cubic feet
- See chimney stack, smokestack
- a vertical pipe, such as the funnel of a ship or the soil pipe attached to the side of a building
- a high column of rock, esp one isolated from the mainland by the erosive action of the sea
- an area in a computer memory for temporary storage
- to place in a stack; pile
- to load or fill up with piles of something
- to control (a number of aircraft waiting to land at an airport) so that each flies at a different altitude
- to prearrange the order of a pack of cards secretly so that the deal will benefit someone